Matthew, The new kid
by Angleterre97
Summary: Mathew Williams is the new kid in school. He is shy and expects to be invisible, and he is, for the most part.
1. Chapter 1

"Class, we have a new student. Would you please introduce yourself and tell us where you're from?" A shy looking boy in a worn-out red hoodie and a one curly hair stood at the front of his new 11th grade English class. He took a deep breath and said quietly, "My name is Matthew Williams, I'm from Canada."

"Thank you, Matthew," said his new teacher. "You can go take the seat over there." His gaze followed where her finger was pointing and moved to go sit at the empty desk. A boy in a bomber jacket was in the seat next to him and he also wore what he assumed was a football jersey with the number 1 on it. 'Great,' he thought, 'A jock.'

Matthew had always been a shy person. It wasn't that he didn't like people, they just never really paid much attention to him. It didn't bug him to much though, he didn't mind being invisible. At his last school he had been invisible, this school he assumed would be no different.

Matthew took his seat and opened the book he had been given to the page written up on the board. As he began writing down his assignment he felt a poke in his side. The jock was trying to get his attention. He tuned his head to see what he wanted and was met by a big goofy grin. "Hey, you're from Canada right? That's so cool. It must be really cold up there huh?" Well that was unexpected.

"Um yeah, it can get pretty cold up there."

"I'm not a big fan of cold weather, oh by the way, I'm Alfred, Alfred Jones. Nice to meet you." He introduced himself, offering his hand. 'Really, someone notices me, wants to talk to me?' Warily he accepted the hand shake."Nice to met you too." 'What a weird jock'

~TIME LEAP~

Matthew stood at his open locker, putting his books in his bag. He had done it. He had made it through the day invisible. Invisible to everyone, that is, except for a jock in a bomber jacket. As it turned out Alfred was in all of his classes. And as it also turned out, he liked to talk. A lot. Matthew learned many things about him through out the day, because Alfred was his own favorite topic. Three in particular was that Alfred loved food, football, and horror movies. 'What a combo' he thought to himself. He had yet to understand why that boy was even interested in talking to him in the first place. As he closed his locker consumed in his thoughts he was startled back to reality by Alfred standing just on the other side of him. "Hey man! You coming to the game tonight?"

"Uh, game?"

"Come on dude, the football game!"

'Oh right, football.' How could he forget? "Um, probably not."

"Awww, why not?"

He thought for a moment. "Well, I don't really know much about football, and I've still got a lot of, um, unpacking to do." Both were true.

"Oh ok, I got ya. Hey, if you give me your number I can text you when we win." 'Someone was confident.' "Besides, I might need you to give me the math assignment, I forgot to write it down." 'And lazy.' So Matthew scribbled down his number on a piece of paper and handed it to Alfred.

"Thanks man." He started to walk off then called over his shoulder, "See ya later Mattie!" and flashed him that goofy grin again. Matthew stood there, dumbfounded. 'Did he just call me...Mattie?'


	2. Chapter 2

"How does someone just like, not know about football?" Alfred asked himself as he was walking across the street to the field where his team would be practicing. They were always practicing, even before a game. He had never met anyone like Mathew before. Sure, he knew plenty of shy kids, but there was just something about Matt that he liked right off the bat. But still, not knowing anything about football?! He lived in Canada right? Not in a hermit hole! As he stepped onto the field he pushed all thoughts out of his head. His team was like a family, but he was the quarterback, #1, the hero. He needed to give the game his full attention. He would text Mattie, that's what he had decided to call him, after they won the game, cause he was sure they would.

~TIME LEAP~

_**BZZZZ...BZZZZ...**_ "What the..?" Mathew had been in a dead sleep. Who could blame him, it was 1:30am. Who in the world was texting him? And at this hour! He lazily reached for his glasses and then for his phone. He flipped it open and waited as his eyes were temporarily blinded by the screen. He looked at the number and didn't recognize it. 'Ugh, I woke up to someone with the wrong number.' he thought irritated. Still he opened the message.

**Hey dude, it's Al. Guess what, we dominated! '**…..What? Who's Al?' Then the previous day came back to him. Al must be Alfred and he must be talking about the football game. As flattered as he was that anyone was texting him at all he was still half asleep.

**That's great.** He texted back. And shut his phone off till morning.

~TIME LEAP, AGAIN~

It was Sunday, Matthew's favorite day of the week. His chores and homework had all been finished the day before on Saturday so today was his day to just relax. He walked down the stairs into the living room in a pair of plaid sweatpants and an old gray tank-top. He walked to the kitchen and started making pancakes. Even here in his new home it was his same beloved Sunday routine. As he was mixing the batter he heard a knock at the door. He was about to set the bowl down to answer it when he heard his father call from his study that he would get it. He knew his dad had many friends so 9:am visits weren't all that strange. What was was when his father called out to him. "Matthew, you 'ave a guest." Really?

Alfred stood outside the house that he was told was Matt's. He prayed that he had the right house as he knocked on the door. He would have just asked Matthew where he lived but he wanted this to be a surprise, he loved surprises. As he stood waiting a tall blonde man he assumed was Matt's dad answered the door. "Allo?"

"Hey, uh, sir." He started off dumbly. "Is this where Matthew lives?"

"Oui, it is. Who are you?"

"I"m Alfred Jones," He said, offering his hand to be polite "I'm a friend from school." With that the man standing before him lit up with a big smile and accepted the handshake. "Oui? Very good. I'm Francis, Mathew's father. It is a pleasure to be meeting you." So with that the man he had been right in assuming was Matt's father lead him into the house. "Mathew," He called out, " You 'ave a guest."

Seconds later said boy walked out of what he presumed the kitchen by the smell that followed him with a surprised look on his face. "Hey Mattie! Nice place you got here!"


	3. Chapter 3

Shocked was a good word to describe Matthew's expression at seeing Alfred, or confused. Maybe both. He had known this person for no more than three days. He had only really spoke to him that first day at school. What on Earth was he doing in his living room?

"Uh thanks...so what are you doing here?" He wished that had come out more polite but it was all that came to his mind.

"I'm here to cure you dude!" Came his reply, face spreading into a grin.

"...What?"

"Come on man, Sunday...Football. You said you didn't know much about it, so the hero's here to help!"

'Oh god.' Matthew thought.

As Matthew and his new friend started chatting Francis took his cue and headed back to his study to finish the paperwork he had started earlier that morning. Truthfully, he was just as surprised as his son to see a visitor looking for him. Francis cared about his son and loved him just the way he was, but he had always been painfully shy. He never did quite understand it, seeing as he himself was far from anything you could consider shy, but he never tried to change Matthew. He always told his son to be himself no matter what and he was always proud that his sons followed his words. Still, it hurt him to see his son accept what he called 'invisibility' among others. He was such a sweet kid and he wished other people could see it. At his last school he hadn't made any friends in the 3 months they had lived there. Now that they were in a place they planned to stay permanently he was positively beaming at the knowledge that his boy had already found someone to hang out with. With a smile on his face he resumed typing the document he had left to answer the door.

Alfred slipped off his shoes and sat himself down on Matthew's couch. He grabbed the remote, scrutinized it for a moment then asked. "Is there a trick to turning on your T.V.?" This brought Matthew back out of his confused daze. Though now a bit annoyed he stifled a laugh at seeing the 'Hero' fumble over turning on a T.V. Grabbing the remote he flipped it on and handed it back to him. "So...how did you know where I live?" He knew he wouldn't be able to keep that question down for long.

"Oh, well you know I am an ace detective." 'That stupid grin must be his trade mark' thought Matthew as it once again graced his face. "So I did some sleuthing and asked around." In truth is friend Feliciano said he heard a French family from Canada had moved in a block away from him and guessed which house on his own. He felt pretty good about himself for picking right the first time.

"Oh, well that's cool. So Football then?"

"Yeah, the Saints/Ravens game starts at 10:00, the Patriots/Cowboys game starts at 1:05, and the Seahawks/Packers game starts at 5:20."

"Whoa, it's an all day thing?"

"Well yeah, it is Sunday." Matthew sighed. He hadn't know Alfred very long but he got the feeling that he was the kind of person that once he had his mind set on something nothing would change it.

"Well, I guess if it's an all day thing we should probably eat, are you hungry?" He looked at the clock, 9:15.

"Oh dude, STARVING." That's right, food was right up there on his list of things he loved.

"Ok, well I got pancakes going in the kitchen, I'll bring some out."

"Awesome, don't be to long, game starts in 45 minutes!"

Oh this was gonna be a long day.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm so so so sooooo sorry this took so long to write! I've been so busy and I've also been experimenting with some one-shots. Hopefully I will be able to find more time to write, so please please oh please bear with me!

"Ok, well see ya tomorrow Mattie!" Alfred called as he headed out the door. It had been a long day. Not long as in unpleasant, just long as in...long. 'But at least it hadn't been for nothing I guess.' thought Matthew as he headed to the kitchen to do the dishes. He at leas now knew all the in's and out's of football. He had sat on the couch most of the day having plays and fouls and calls explained to him by Alfred in between shoving snack food into his mouth. He had gratefully inhaled the pancakes that had been given to him and then pulled out a large bag full of his own junk food he had apparently brought with him. "I don't wanna eat you out of house and home," he had said when asked about it. "That would be rude of me." Though he didn't think to do much with his trash. "I suppose it's the thought that counts." Matthew sighed as he deposited empty bags and wrappers into the waste bin.

"He seems like a nice boy, kind of loud though." Matt whirled around, startled. He hadn't heard his father enter the room. "Oh, um, yeah he's nice." He wasn't sure what exactly to say about Al, so he just started running the water for the dishes. "So," Francis prodded further. "What's he like, tell me about 'im." Matthew looked up at him from the sink so his father would be able to hear his voice better. "Like you said, he's a nice but kinda loud kid."

"Well, what is he into?" So he began to relate to Francis what Al had told him about himself.

"Still, he sounds like a very nice boy." his father said as he finished both his explanation and drying the dishes. "What do you think of 'im?" That question caught Matt off guard a bit. Why was his dad asking him so many questions? He knew that it had been a while since he'd had a friend over, but still...

"I just told you."

"Non, you told me what he is like. I want to know _your_ opinion cher" This was getting ridiculous, but he knew his father well and knew he was stuck on getting a truthful answer out of him.

"He's loud, obnoxious, and kind of full of himself," he started, then stopped to think a bit more of what he thought of his new friend. "But he's pretty nice and considerate to, I guess." His father smiled at him, satisfied, as he poured himself a glass of wine. Matthew placed himself at the table with his own glass, filled with sparkling apple cider, his favorite. Francis sat down across from him and watched him for a few moments before speaking again in the cool, nonchalant way that he always seemed to. "He's quite an attractive young man, non?" Matthew nearly choked on his drink. Had he heard his father right? "Wha-What?" Francis smirked behind the rim of his glass as the boy on the other side stared agape at him, as if he had asked if he thought maple syrup should be banned. "You heard me right." His smirk grew into a grin as he watched his son's face turn an adorable shade of pink. "Well?" Matthew just sat there wide-eyed trying to form words and sentences but to no avail. "Um...ah, I...uh..."

"Is that a yes?" Francis eyed his son waiting for a response though he was fairly sure he already knew the answer. He had been keeping an eye on the two of them through out the day and was pleasantly surprised to see Matthew warm up to the American so quickly, something he usually didn't do. Before the boy could answer they both turned at the sound of Francis' ring tone. He looked down at his phone. "I should probably take this, I'll give you some time to think cher." he flashed his son a bright, sly smile as he flipped open his phone and walked out of the room babbling in french. Matthew continued to sit there and did exactly that, think. But his head was buzzing and driving him mad. Why was his dad always so perceptive? Did he like that goofy kid? Those and a thousand more shot around inside his skull. He made his way up to his room and crashed down on his bed. He would just go to school tomorrow and pretend he had never had that strange, awkward talk with his father. 'Ugh,' he thought as his mind finally began to slow down 'school.'


	5. Chapter 5

"Dude, what happened to you?" Alfred asked Matthew as the Canadian boy came into their history class. Matt just turned his head away as he sat down, refusing to meet the others gaze. Something like this had never happened to him before. He had been picked on plenty enough...but never to this extent. "Mattie, c'mon what happened?"

"I fell." he said quickly. That was a lie. Alfred only stared at him with a look of concern.

"Ok class, turn in your textbooks to page 156..."

~TIME LEAP~

"Coach!" Alfred called as he hustled off the field. Practice had only started an hour ago, so they still had a little over half left. "Coach I gotta jet early today." The tall, foreboding figure that was the head football coach looked at him as if he had just insulted him greatly. "Oh yeah, Jones? You think I'm just gonna let you waltz out of here for no reason just cause you're the quarter back? Get back out there!" Alfred cringed a bit. "No sir, you don't understand-"

"You're right I don't and I don't need to understand to know an excuse when I hear one. Unless someone is dyin' you go run two laps and get back out there, all you're doin' is holdin' your team up and bringin' them down. Now get goin'!" Al only sighed and started running. No one was dying, but something just wasn't right today.

~TIME LEAP~

_**KNOCK KNOCK~**_ Francis raised his eyes fro the book he had been reading. 'Who on earth?' he glanced at the clock. It was 6:30. Him and Matthew had finished dinner half an hour ago and he wasn't expecting any company. He placed his book and reading glasses down and went to answer the door.

"Alfred?"

"Oh, uh hi Mr. Bonnefoy. Is Matt home?"

'This kid looks like hell' The Frenchman thought to himself. As it turned out after practice he had jogged overt to the residence, which sat on a hill a few blocks over. He still had his gear in tow.

"I'm sorry for not, you know, just kind of poping up. I can leave this out side." He gestured to the smelly gear.

"That's fine, if you just go up those stairs his is the second door on the right." Alfred smiled and thanked him as he set down his gear and took off his shoes. He shot one more 'thank you' down as he ascended the stairs.

He gently tapped on the door. When he heard a muffled 'Come in' he swung the door open. Matthew was sitting on his bed with what was either a note book or a sketch pad, he wasn't sure. When the Canadian finally looked up he let out a small yelp of surprise and quickly closed the book/pad.

"Al, what are you doing here?"

"Oh just checking up on you."

"You look horrible."

"Heh, yeah and so do you, mind tellin' me the truth about those bumps and bruises?" Matthew just turned his head away as if in shame. "I told you I fell..."

"Sure you did." The American said as he sat down on the bed next to the other and grabbed the remote.

"You know there's always a game on on Mondays, I bet we can still catch some of it." He said as he flicked it on and then changed it to the right channel. Matthew rolled his eyes but smiled just a bit. Al was sitting so close to him, he'd never hear the end of it from his father.

'I'm gonna get the truth out of him eventually.' Al thought to himself as he watched the screen. 'There's no way that was just a fall.'


	6. Chapter 6

"Looks like the game's going into overtime." Al said as the two boys sat on the bed. Matthew looked tired. Alfred would have left him so he could get some rest, but he was still concerned for his friend. "So how did you fall then?" He suddenly asked. Matt looked up at the American, confused.

"Oh, um I was going down the stairs and tripped." Alfred wasn't convinced.

"You know that first period is on the first floor."

"Uh,yeah, I know...I fell down the stairs here at home."

"Then why didn't you put something on those," He motioned to all the bruises and scrapes, "Or just stay home. They look pretty nasty."

Matthew looked away as he tried to think of something, anything. He couldn't tell him what had happened, it would be to humiliating...

"Why couldn't I just stay invisible." He mumbled. Alfred leaned in, "What was that?" though he was pretty sure he heard right. "Please Mattie, I'm your friend right, you can tell me what _really_ happened." 'Friend.' Matthew repeated in his mind. He took a deep breath and sighed. "I...I didn't fall...a couple of boys beat me up before class." He clenched his eyes shut at the memory from just that morning. "They shoved me into the lockers and then when I fell onto the ground they kicked me. A lot." He paused, then he looked up at Alfred with a look of pure fear in his eyes."Please don't tell anyone." It was barley a whisper. 'Poor Mattie.' Alfred pulled the Canadian into a warm hug and held him close, making him blush. Thankfully the American either didn't notice or didn't think anything of it. "Oh Mattie, I'm so sorry. You should have told me earlier, you should have come and found me. Did you tell your dad?" He shook his head, he couldn't tell his dad, this was already so humiliating. "You should tell your dad, Matt." The Canadian looked up at him with a look of horror. 'Was he nuts!' "Come on," He stood up and extended his hand, "I'll come with you, It'll be ok." Reluctantly he took the others hand, blushing a little again.

~/0/~

"What?! Some one hurt my dear Matthew?!" Matt sighed and rolled his eyes. He new his dad would do this, that was part of the reason he hadn't wanted to tell him. He could be so dramatic sometimes. "Why would anyone want to do this to you? Oh my poor boy!" He had Matthew in a tight hug. He squirmed out of it. "Dad I'm fine, really."

"Non, you're not. Why didn't you tell me? This is unacceptable! Shouldn't the school do something about this or-"

"Mr. Bonnefoy." The Frenchman was cut off by Alfred , who stood from his seat on the couch. "The school wont do anything, at least nothing beneficial to Mattie, but I promise you I will. I'll take care of it. I wont let this happen to him again, sir." Alfred was dead serious. Francis stared at him for a few moments. He stood up and faced the boy and put a hand on his shoulder. "Al, listen to me, this wasn't your fault."

"I know that sir." Francis smiled warmly at him.

"I'm happy that you care so much for my Matthew, I really am." Francis then retracted his hand and turned to go upstairs. "Matthew, don't forget to put something on those bruises before you go to bed. I'm going to sleep now because I have to get up early. It was nice to see you aging Alfred, and thank you." And with that he slipped away.

"I'm sorry about all that, my dad can get kind of-"

"I'ts ok, he was just worried. Hey, if you don't mind I'd like to walk with you to school tomorrow. What time do you usually leave?"

"Al, it's ok, I'm fine."

"I know, I just want to." He flashed him that big grin. Matthew rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I leave here at 7:30, be here cause I wont wait for you." They both shared a laughed as Al grabbed his gear, said good-bye and headed out the door. Matthew made his way up to his bathroom to treat his wounds. After that he put on his PJs and took his note pad back out. It was a journal of sorts. It had drawings and poems and what some people would consider diary entries. He knew it was a little odd because he was a boy and all, but he didn't really mind that much. At the bottom of the page he had been was on, where he had been writing about his beating and how much it had sucked, just in the corner, he scribbled down 'AJ x MW' and circled it with a heart. His head was spinning, partly from his encounter earlier that day, partly because he was so unsure of his feelings after at the moment. When had Alfred become so protective of him? He drew a question mark next to the heart. 'Damn it all' He thought to himself, 'What happened to just being invisible?'


	7. Chapter 7

_ KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. _

Matthew stuck his head out of the kitchen door. This boy was punctual. Grabbing his bag and his house keys he did a quick check just to make sure all of the lights were off before heading out the door and locking it. "Goooooood morning!" Alfred greeted with a large grin. Matthew smiled a bit at his friend, but grimaced as he shifted his bag. The injuries from the day before sprouting up in all new places. Alfred's grin immediately fell. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."  
"Well alright, here, I can carry that for you." He made a move to reach for the other boys bag but had his hand slapped down.

"I said I'm fine, I can carry it."

"Are you sure?" Matthew almost laughed a bit, his friend was nearly pouting. He looked at the back-pack and Football gear that Alfred was already toting around.

"I'm positive. Geez, you're acting like my dad."

"Whatever." He said, his grin creeping its way back onto his face. They continued walking and chatting until they made it to the school.

"Uh Al?"

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you gonna go put your bag and gear away?" They were standing at Matt's locker.

"Oh right, yeah I am." His eyes scanned the throng of people until he found one he was looking for. "Feli! Come here a minuet." Matthew stared at Al, confused.

"Veee~ Hey Alfred!" A bubbly looking boy bounced up to them, a curl of hair that stuck out of his cooper hair bouncing right along with him. "Need something?"

"Yeah," he gestured to his gear. "Could you take this to the locker room for me?"

"Sure thing!" The boy grabbed the gear and ran off before Alfred could even thank him.

"...What was that?" Matt asked, looking at Al with a suspicious look.

"What was what?"

"You could have just taken that to the gym yourself." The other boy only shrugged.

OOOOOO

"Alfred." The boy looked up at him as they walked to their last class of the day.

"What?"

"Are you alright?"

"What? Of course I am!" Matthew looked at him skeptically.

"Why?"

"You haven't left me alone all day Al, what do I have to make you believe that I'm fine?"

"How can I _not_ follow you around, we have every class together."

"No, not just following, _clinging._" Alfred sighed as they took their seats.

"Come on, I told your dad I wouldn't let that happen to you again, I just don't want you to get hurt or hurt yourself, it's only been a day since they beat you up you know, you really should have gone to the hospital to get those looked a- Ouch!" Matthew slugged him in the arm.

"Oh that didn't hurt, you baby. I'm _fine_, I promise. If I need anything I'll ask ok? You don't need to worry so much. You should be more concerned with your game this Friday, right? And I don't need to go to the hospital." If there was one thing he liked about being invisible, it was that people didn't fuss over him.

"Ok ok, I'm sorry. You're my friend, I care."

Matthew heaved a sigh as he started in on his assignment. "I know you do, I'm sorry as well."

Alfred began on his assignment to. "So just to be sure...you're staying at practice with me today."

"Alfred!"

"No 'buts'~"

"Al, I am _not_ hanging around here for 2 and a half hours."

"Sure you are, you can watch me practice."

"No, I think I'll just walk home thanks."

"Alone?!"

"Yes, alone."

"But Mattie..."

"Alfred, come on. I'm not a little ki-"

"Pleeeeeeeeease!"

"No"

"Pleeeeeeeeease!"

People began to turn their heads at the 'Conversation' the two of them were having.

"Pleeeeeeease Mattie!"

'I'm gonna smack him.'

"Gah fine, just shut up!" Al smiled in victory.

Matthew just turned his head away, to hide his furious blush.

'Stupid idiot.'


End file.
